Anthony Koutoufides’ plan to bring back share hire e-scooter scheme, change gears on bike lane rollout

Carlton great and lord mayoral candidate Anthony Koutoufides says he wants share hire e-scooters to return to the city, while also revealing his big plan for bike lanes if elected to the top job.

Anthony Koutoufides said the protected bike lanes on Exhibition must be replaced with narrower bike lanes to allow for cars to park. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

No more wide bike lanes would be installed across Melbourne’s CBD and hire e-scooters would be returned to the streets with tighter restrictions, if Carlton champion Anthony Koutoufides is elected to the city’s top job.

Koutoufides, who is running for lord mayor in the October council election, on Thursday unveiled dual policies on bike lanes and e-scooters, becoming one of the first major contenders in the mayoral race to put forward a bike lane plan.

The AFL legend, known for his passion for fitness, said bike lanes were an “important” part of Melbourne’s transport mix but called out the lack of consistency across the rollout.

“Different modes of transport are a must, but we need a much better balance to ensure our businesses can also survive and thrive,” Koutoufides said.

“Over the past few years, there’s been too many new bike lanes installed on city streets, taking away valuable parking spaces for customers to access local businesses.”

Koutoufides wants share hire e-scooters to remain in the City of Melbourne. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Koutoufides vowed there would be “no more” protected bike lanes, which separate cyclists from motorists with a physical barrier, on his watch.

He also pledged, if elected, to remove the protected bike lanes along Exhibition St and roll out narrower, unprotected bike lanes in their place, similar to those along Bourke St.

“Exhibition St is a classic example where bike lanes have really hurt our city because parking has been massively reduced and traffic jams put people off the area,” he said.

It is his hope that by reconfiguring Exhibition St, it could accommodate a strip of parking bays, a bike lane and two lanes of traffic on either side.

“Bike lanes work, they just don’t need to be as wide,” he said.

But Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack hit back at the plan.

“Melburnians love (bike lanes) and they don’t want lord mayoral candidates tampering with them,” she said.

“No matter who gets elected this year, the bike strategy will remain in place and will continue to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to locals and visitors alike.”

In April, the City of Melbourne paused its plan to roll out new protected bike lanes along Flinders St, Bourke St and Spring St this year, with councillors agreeing to reschedule the roll out to “future years”.

The 4km of protected bike lanes proposed for Flinders St would run from Docklands to Spring St, while the bike lanes on Bourke St and Spring St would connect existing routes on Albert St and Exhibition St.

Team Kouta said it would not be against the roll out of bike lanes along these thoroughfares if they were narrow, thereby allowing room for parking bays.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece voted to boot share hire e-scooters from the City of Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis

Koutoufides also vowed on Thursday to bring back share hire e-scooters after councillors, including Lord Mayor Nick Reece, last month voted to boot them from city streets by tearing up the council’s contracts with operators.

“I know opinion is divided on this issue, but after talking with operators and looking at case studies around the world, we can make e-scooters a positive part of our travel around the city,” Koutoufides said, describing them as a “fun, easy and cost-effective mode of transport”.

Koutoufides says e-scooters are a fun, easy and cost-effective mode of transport. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“We need a system which forces users to pick up and return their scooters to designated depots, which will be carefully positioned across the city.

“Similar to a bike rack, this will ensure e-scooter commuters know where to pick up and drop off their vehicles … and the technology is such that you cannot leave them outside of these designated areas without a financial penalty of up to $100.”

After extending the trial three times, the state government has announced it will allow share hire e-scooters to operate permanently from October when tough new penalties will be introduced.